Bio

Cathy Strack is a naturally curious person and always wants to know more about other people; about how they live and work, and what motivates them. In her first career as a Licensed Mental Health Counsellor she developed the interview skills that have been useful for gathering information to write a book about Romana Kryzanowska.

To offset the physical effects of full time office work, Cathy became a personal trainer and Pilates teacher. She began practicing Pilates in 2001 and completed her first certification in 2003 at White Cloud Studio in Cleveland, Ohio. She owned a studio, Precision Pilates, for over 10 years. For the past 15 years she has taken workshops with teachers associated with the Classical Pilates method. This includes one fantastic weekend with Romana in Arlington, Texas. Most recently, Cathy completed the Power Pilates Bridge program. Along the way, she realized there was very little information about the man (Joseph H. Pilates) who developed the Pilates method, and less information about those entrusted to carry on his teachings. The desire to know more about these people has led Cathy on a six+ year journey of research and interviews resulting in a biography about Romana Kryzanowska (Pilates protégé) titled Love All Around.

In conducting this research, Cathy uncovered a little known publication by Joseph Pilates and Frederick Rand Rogers named Return to Life Through Contrology. This fifteen page pamphlet contains new information about Pilates, along with endorsements by many of his clients. Cathy tells the story behind the pamphlet and offers it as The Pilates Pamphlet: Return to Life Through Contrology. (Insider tip, a new edition will soon be available: Jacob’s Pillow edition.)

A second book about the lives of other first generation Pilates teachers is in the planning stages. Just as with the first book, coauthor Carol J. Craig has thoroughly researched the lives of these people. Cathy will begin writing this book immediately after completion of the Romana biography. It is tentatively titled They All Go To Joe.

Cathy lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and two cats. They enjoy going to Reds baseball games and Bengals football games. Cathy works as a Pilates teacher at BodyMind Balance (http://bmbpilates.com) when she is not busy writing.

Cathy is happy to share what she has learned about Joseph and Clara Pilates, Romana Kryzanowska, and their many clients and friends. She is available for public speaking engagements and workshop presentations. While the book is still a few more months from completion, check out her blog posts.